


Come Back to Me

by greyone01



Series: Damerey Week 2018 [6]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: DameRey, F/M, JediPilot, damereyweek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-26
Updated: 2018-10-26
Packaged: 2019-08-01 23:55:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16294397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greyone01/pseuds/greyone01
Summary: When Commander Poe Dameron was nearly shot down while aiding an errant Resistance pilot during a dogfight, Rey's reaction was both terrifying and endearing.Day 6 of Damerey Week 2018





	Come Back to Me

**Author's Note:**

> Damerey Week Day 6 prompt: survival

The hangar was already buzzing with post-op activity when the last X-wing touched down. In the cockpit of Black One, Black Leader Commander Poe Dameron was livid as he went through the shutdown sequence. For this mission, he had flown with three other pilots – Black Squadron veterans Snap Wexley and Suralinda Javos, and one of the newest pilots of the Resistance, Milos Lima. While he was new to the Resistance, Lima had almost ten years flying experience with the New Republic navy, making him a valuable addition to the Resistance. He did not need any further training as far as flying a fighter goes, Poe had been ecstatic to have such an experienced pilot join their ranks.

Everything had been going well until they unexpectedly came across a dozen TIEs. As Black Leader, Poe made the call to his team to begin a maneuver that they often do when they find themselves outnumbered by the enemy. In formation, the four easily took out more than half of the TIEs while successfully avoiding potentially catastrophic hits. Poe was in the midst of calling out their next play when Lima had suddenly broke away and attempted to neutralize the remaining TIEs on his own. He easily disposed of one TIE but in doing so, he had made himself and his team vulnerable to the remaining TIEs. This forced the other three X-wings to abandon their formation and each of the pilots had needed to engage in the dogfight without the protection offered by what was supposed to be a unified effort. Poe scrambled to take out as many TIEs as he could, and after a couple of close calls, all targets were finally neutralized. 

They flew back to base without their usual easy banter. Poe was steaming in Black One’s cockpit, angry at Lima for taking the unnecessary risk that resulted to endangering the rest of the team. Snap and Sura knew Poe well enough to leave him alone during times like this, and neither was in the mood for small talk with the cause of Poe’s discontent. Once they neared their destination, Poe’s curt orders on their landing sequence broke the tense silence. As was routine for him, Black One landed last. Poe was still fuming when his feet touched solid ground. Lima may have been the older and more experienced pilot, but in the Resistance and especially in this mission, Commander Dameron was the ranking officer. 

Poe stormed angrily to where Lima was, but Snap was quick to block his way and laid a restraining hand on his arm. “Let me go, Wexley,” Poe growled, still fully intending to give Lima a piece of his mind. “This guy needs to know he can’t go pulling stunts like that.”

Snap did not let go, not bothering to hide his surprise. He had heard the stories, of course, of what happened in Poe’s suicide mission with the Dreadnought in D’Qar, and the change in his friend wasn’t lost on him. The Poe of old was more forgiving of risky calls, especially if it went well. No harm, no foul, Poe had used to say. He would never have been this upset with Lima’s move.

“Look, Poe, I know that was a risky one he pulled, but I’m okay, Sura’s okay, you’re okay, and we got the mission done with only minor damages,” Snap said, still not moving. “I’m sure Lima’s realized how wrong he was.”

“He’d better,” Poe muttered. He looked at his friend seriously. “It’s different now, Snap. There are so few of us, and if something happened to you, to any of you, I don’t know if I could live with that.”

“Well, nothin’ happened, we’re all okay,” Snap replied, finally releasing Poe and moving aside. “And, as I told you, I’m sure Lima is well aware of the error of his ways by now.”

Poe followed Snap’s gaze. His eyes widened in surprise to see the big and burly man looking very much like a contrite schoolboy as the Resistance’s resident Jedi unleashed her wrath on him. “Looks like your girl’s got this covered, Dameron,” Snap said, with a hint of amusement.

“Kriff, let’s diffuse this before she fries him,” Poe cried in alarm, not realizing or denying what Snap was implying. He was truly more vexed with the confrontation between Rey and his pilot. He had only seen Rey get this angry a couple of times before, and in all of those times, it was because of him or something he did, and he knew all too well what it was like to be in Lima’s shoes right now. Truth be told, Rey was scary when she gets this mad, and if he hadn’t known her for as well as he did, the sight of her will probably have him shaking in his boots. Poe started off towards the pair, with Snap not far behind him. Rey saw them approaching, and as they reached her, Poe could easily see the ire in her eyes. 

“Commander Dameron, General Organa’s expecting you and your team for your debrief,” she said coolly. She gave Lima one last withering look before storming off. Poe instinctively moved to go after her, but Javos calling them out made him reconsider.

“Oi!” Sura called. “C’mon boys, you heard what she said. I wouldn’t want to keep the General waiting.”

Running a hand through his hair in frustration, Poe about-faced and jogged to follow the three. Just before entering the General’s office, Lima pulled Poe aside. 

“We really shouldn’t keep the General waiting,” Poe said with a raised eyebrow. “An angry Rey is nothing compared to an angry Leia.”

“Look, Dameron,” Lima began, then corrected himself. “Commander, I’m really sorry for that stupid stunt I made.”

Poe appraised him silently, and sensing the sincerity in his apology, clapped Lima lightly on the shoulder. “All right, just make sure you learn from this. I don’t want any repeats of that.”

“Yes, sir,” Lima nodded. Poe was quite surprised with Lima’s formal demeanor; prior to this, the man had always treated him as a subordinate, or an equal at best, largely because Lima saw himself as senior to Poe in practically every aspect except for his place in the Resistance chain of command. The older pilot was making it clear now that he knew his place. Poe acknowledged this with a nod and entered Leia’s office. 

The briefing went more smoothly than expected, Leia seemingly aware of what transpired in the hangar. Being the officer in charge of the mission, Poe had done most of the talking. Lima continued to look quite shell-shocked throughout the briefing and had only nodded meekly when Leia curtly admonished him. Leia then ended the briefing, but instead of dismissing them, she ushered them to command to attend to other pressing matters. It was dinner time by the time their meeting adjourned.

Poe followed the others to mess, hoping to find Rey there. From the way she fled earlier, he knew it wasn’t only Lima she was upset with. He’d been racking his brain during their meeting of what else she could possibly be upset about, and had come up with nothing.

Entering the mess, his eyes automatically scanned the room for Rey as he followed the others to the food queue. He saw Snap’s wife Kare Kun and the rest of the Black Squadron pilots at their usual table. Finn and Rose were likewise where they usually sat, but the seat normally occupied by Rey was empty. His droid was also noticeably absent – BB-8 typically gives Rey his blow-by-blow of their missions the moment they get back on base. 

“Peace offering?” Snap joked when he saw Poe get enough food for two. 

“Nope, I’m just really starving,” Poe replied dryly. He sighed. “You saw how upset she was.”

“That I did,” Snap nodded. “Word of the wise, bro, when she starts talking, best not to interrupt and just agree with everything she says. Talk only when spoken to, and the less you say, the better. And I must say, bringing a peace offering is a good idea.”

Poe snorted. Occasionally, he still got surprised with how much being married changed Snap – in a good way. He made a mental note to try remember what his friend said, but chances are, he’d forget about it because being around Rey has a funny effect on his brain. “I have a feeling that outburst was not all about Lima.”

Snap looked at him with narrowed eyes. “You have a feeling? Kriff, Dameron, of course it wasn’t only about Lima.”

“Then what? Did I say anything over the comms?”

Snap continued to look at him curiously. “You really don’t get it, do you? You really should get your head out of the cockpit more often.” He went on when Poe continued to regard him questioningly. “Think about it. What happened there – we nearly got totaled a couple of times. If you had been on base and watching or listening on the whole thing, and someone you really care about nearly dies out there, wouldn’t you be upset as well?”

Poe’s eyes widened in understanding. “Oh.”

Snap smirked. “Do I have to spell it to you? She cares about you, flyboy, and was probably scared shitless with those close calls.”

He punched Snap lightly on the arm, his heart soaring with this realization. Poe had an easy friendship with Rey, he felt that he had known her way before he met her – through Finn, and through BB-8. He had heard so much from them about this amazing woman, and both had been willing to move mountains to come to her aid. Rey seemed to have felt the same thing, Poe supposed BB-8 and Finn had told her about him as well. So they did not really start as strangers, already earning the other’s trust through their shared friends. With Finn spending more time with Rose after Crait, and with Poe’s squadron still deployed in their mission, Rey and Poe found themselves spending more time together. Eventually, Rose got better and the Black Squadron pilots came back, but that did not change what already developed between the two. Poe knew he was crossing into dangerous territory with his increasingly deepening feelings for her, but he never picked on that she may have been feeling something similar. Until now, when Snap had kindly pointed it out to him.

Buoyed by this realization, he broke off from the queue and set off to find Rey. When he didn’t find her in her quarters or on the Falcon, he knew there was only one other place where she could be. He walked out and around the hangar, and in the dying light of the day, he saw the faint glow of his droid amidst the enormous crates that they keep behind the hangar. As he got closer, BB-8’s dome head spun to his direction and he was greeted by a cheery chirp.

“Hey, buddy,” he returned, bending momentarily to give it an affectionate pat. “Why don’t you go tell Artoo about our latest run?” The astromech’s optic sensor swiveled between him and Rey, and with a series of excited beeps, he went along his merry way.

She was sitting on one of the crates, her heels softly tapping the crate with the almost imperceptible swing of her legs. He cautiously approached her and set the bag of food beside her. He leaned back on the crate and shoved his hands on his pocket. Now that he found her, he didn’t quite know how to proceed.

“If you’re waiting for me to apologize for talking down your pilot, that’s not going to happen.”

Poe shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. I should be thanking you.” He braved a small smile. “I was on my way to do just that, but you beat me to it.”

Rey scoffed. “I’m not proud of what I did, but I couldn’t help it.” She looked down at him and met his eyes. “I wasn’t just angry, Poe,” she confessed. “What he did, then happened after then, it made me feel sick.”

Poe straightened up and moved to stand before her. He looked up to her and saw weariness in her eyes. She was wringing her hands on her lap and he gently laid his hands on top hers. He didn’t know what to say, but seeing her like this was making him feel sick.

“Four times,” she whispered. “Four times, Poe.”

“Sorry, what?” Her words threw him off, and as always, it’s taking his brain twice as long to process anything.

She pulled one of her hands away, and slowly, raised it until she was brushing away the stubborn lock of hair that was always straying to his forehead. Poe felt his heart start hammering in his chest, surprised with her affectionate gesture. “Four times,” she said again. “Four times I thought they’d get you.”

His brain finally caught up. “You were worried about me?”

“Kriff, Poe, I wasn’t just worried! I was scared!” she exclaimed, her eyes bright with unshed tears. “Gods, I didn’t even know I could feel that scared of losing anyone!”

“Oh, Rey, I’m so sorry,” Poe said softly, stepping into the space between her knees, his arms reaching out to pull her close. He felt her lean into him and he tightened his embrace. 

“I can’t lose you, and I thought I was going to,” she whispered. “And then when it was all over, when you had all touched down, this wave of anger just came over me. I was mad at him for putting you in that position, and then mad at you for going after him. I needed you to come back to me, and you nearly didn’t. And then I was mad at you for making me go through all that.”

Poe pulled back a little so that he could look her in the eyes. “I’m right here,” he said firmly. His eyes locked onto hers, searching for validation. “Gods, Rey, are you telling me I meant that much to you?”

Rey gave a small huff and nodded. “I’m not kidding, Poe. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you.”

He took a moment to gaze at her tear-stained face. Gently he brushed away her tears, but they kept coming anyway. He watched her close her eyes before closing the gap between them. He could taste her tears as they kissed. There was a hint of desperation in her kiss, and this spurred him to deepen the kiss in hopes that he could quiet whatever fears remain in her. Eventually, he pulled back and looked in her eyes for any sign of uncertainty. He felt his breath hitch in his throat when his eyes were met by her loving gaze. He never imagined, not even in his wildest dreams, that he would have someone who cared this much for him. 

She laid her hand back on his cheek. “I know you can’t promise me you’ll always come back to me, but can you, will you…do your very best to do so?”

He reached for her hand and kissed her palm. It tore him inside that she was right, he couldn’t promise that. “Yes, Rey,” he pledged. “As long as there’s life in me, I’ll come back to you.”

She locked her eyes with his before she threw her arms around him. He felt her hold back a sob as she clung to him, making him hold her even tighter. In silence, they held each other, thankful that at least this time, he was back with her.

**Author's Note:**

> One week late, but here it is! One more to go to cap off my Damerey Week contributions.


End file.
